In the spring of 1970 protests about the Vietnam war were reaching a boiling point all over the country. Many believed the was unwinnable and that American lives were being unnecessarily sacrificed. Others believed America had a duty to fight until the Viet Kong was subdued. These differences of opinion often fell between the young and the old.
Many young people were protesting a war they didn't believe in, and their elders were frustrated because the children wouldn't behave and respect authority. In early May, tensions came to a head at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. The National Guard was called in to control the university students, and four of those students were killed on May 4 by a military assault on unarmed young adults.
Deborah Wiles explores the events of those few days through the voices of the students, the citizens of Kent, African American students, and the National Guard. This is an interesting book written as a conversation amongst dissenting parties. Each group has a different font for differentiation, and they rarely agree on the facts of that day.
Wiles draws clear lines between the Vietnam War protests to the Black Lives Matter protests of today and emphasizes the right of the American people to peaceably assemble and protest. Personally, I really enjoyed this book, and I appreciated the format and style; however, I think you would need to be a fairly sophisticated reader with at least some background knowledge to understand the perspectives and keep everything straight. The different "characters" are never identified, and the changing fonts are the major clue to indicate the speaker. Readers will need to sharpen their inferencing skills to stick with this one. Additionally, there are several instances of profanity in the book that make it more appropriate for an older audience.
